Connectivity for data transfer reaches tyres with the Pirelli Cyber Tyre

The introduction of ever greater connectivity has brought numerous advances to the automotive world today, advances we could not have imagined or which, although they existed, were reserved solely for motorsport. It is not the usual case, but sometimes these advances make their way into road cars and into a particular segment, as Pirelli has now officially presented.

A few months ago Pirelli announced with great fanfare its Cyber Tyre system, which we can now see mounted on a tyre and which is nothing more than a 12-gram sensor located inside the tread. The peculiarity of this sensor is that it is connected to the vehicle itself, to which it constantly transfers data to optimise the operation of various systems.

This technology was born from the collaboration between Pirelli and Bosch, who, using Bluetooth technology, have made this sensor installed in the tyre capable of providing exclusive information such as the identity of the tyre itself, its inflation pressure, temperature and others, which are transferred to the vehicle through Pirelli software that, always in real time, generates algorithms that feed various vehicle functions.

Once interpreted by Pirelli’s software, these algorithms are sent to the vehicle so that it can optimise functions and systems such as traction control, ESP and ABS, allowing them to work more efficiently and precisely, while also extracting greater potential from the tyre, especially if they are high-performance ones.

In fact, for now this technology is reserved for supercars such as the Pagani Utopia Roadster, the first model to fit Cyber Tyre technology as standard. Obviously, however, Pirelli’s aim is for it to reach a larger volume of vehicles, and to that end it is already in talks with car manufacturers to integrate Pirelli Cyber Tyre into the electronics of their models.

In parallel, and for now in the development phase, other uses for this technology are being explored, though perhaps somewhat more debatable, as it would mean yet another element connected to the outside world and therefore our data being more exposed. They are studying the possibility that the information collected by the sensors could be used by the authorities or companies responsible for managing the various roads to assess the condition of the asphalt, so that they could carry out preventive work to increase safety. Furthermore, looking to the future of smart cities, the data collected by Cyber Tyre would be available to other drivers and road infrastructure via 5G connection.